Fox News Hides Syria Strike Supporter's Major Conflict Of Interest

Fox News has been hiding a major financial conflict of interest of one of its most frequent analysts on the United States’ missile strike against Syria.

Fox News military analyst and retired U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane has regularly appeared on the channel in the past several days to praise President Donald Trump for launching 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase that reportedly housed[1] warplanes that carried out chemical attacks against civilians. But Fox and Keane have repeatedly failed to disclose that Keane is on the board of directors of General Dynamics -- an aerospace and defense company that develops technology for launching Tomahawk missiles.

General Dynamics is a U.S.-based company that received[2] roughly $19 billion in defense industry revenue in 2015. Keane has been on its board of directors[3] since 2004 and, according to the company’s most recent proxy statement[4], received $257,884 in compensation (including “stock awards”) in 2016.

According[5] to Fortune writer Jen Wieczner, on the first day of trading following the strike on Syria, shares of defense industry stocks -- including General Dynamics -- collectively gained “nearly $5 billion in market value as soon as they began trading, even as the broader market fell.” She also noted that General Dynamics “makes technology used to fire Tomahawk missiles” and the company’s stock “is up 14%” since Trump was elected.

General Dynamics has long ties to Raytheon, which[6] “makes the Tomahawk missiles used in the air strikes on Syria by the United States.” General Dynamics stated[7] in a 2010 press release that the company “has been producing the [composite capsule launch system] structures for Raytheon since the late 1980s.” According to the company’s ordnance and tactical systems business unit website, it manufactures[8] “numerous critical metal components for the tomahawk missile program.”

Keane has appeared on numerous Fox News programs to discuss Syria in the past several days without the network disclosing his financial conflict of interest.

For instance, Keane appeared[9] on the April 6 edition of Special Report with Bret Baier, during which he praised the U.S. military’s ability to use cruise missiles in a then-hypothetical strike, stating: “It would be standoff cruise missiles delivered from surface and subsurface ships. We would not have to fly a single airplane into Syria. We would not have to deal with Russian missile defense or Syrian missile defense.”

Following the missile launch[10], he appeared on shows like Hannity[11], Fox & Friends, Shepard Smith Reporting, The First 100 Days, and America’s News HQ[12] and praised[13] President Trump for showing “strong, responsible, and moral leadership.”

Keane’s biography on Fox News’ website also makes no mention[14] of his ties to General Dynamics.

In 2013, the Public Accountability Initiative[15] criticized Keane and other military analysts for routinely failing to disclose their ties to defense contractors and other firms while discussing Syria. The nonprofit noted that Keane[16] has also been[17] “a venture partner of SCP Partners, a defense-focused investment firm.” The Washington Post quoted then[18]-Fox News executive vice president Michael Clemente stating [19]of Keane: “We generally disclose contacts when our judgment is that it’s journalistically germane to the story.”